[en] Aphids, feeding from the phloem sap of plants, are the most common honeydew producing insects. This aphid excretory product consists in an aqueous mixture of different chemical compounds of which the most important are sugars (90-95% of the dry weight) and amino acids.
This excretory product, used by parasitoids and predators, plays a crucial role in the tritrophic interactions : (1) honeydew is an important food complement and (2) honeydew acts as a volatile and a contact kairomone. These characteristics could be exploited for enhancing the
biological control in fields through the use of an « artificial honeydew ».